Cleansers

For years before the mid-1980s, groundwater in parts of Southern California was contaminated with toxic solvents, yet the federal body responsible for tracking this didn't investigate the potential health threat to people who were drinking contaminated tap water. A congressional committee is now investigating why that neglect occurred. Here's a closer look at what scientists know about the main solvents of concern and their health effects.

Six teenagers have shown up in two San Fernando Valley emergency rooms in the last few months with alcohol poisoning after drinking hand sanitizer, worrying public health officials who say the cases could signal a dangerous trend. Some of the teenagers used salt to separate the alcohol from the sanitizer, making a potent drink that is similar to a shot of hard liquor. "All it takes is just a few swallows and you have a drunk teenager," said Cyrus Rangan, director of the toxicology bureau for the county public health department and a medical toxicology consultant for Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

How clean is too clean? How dirty can we be and still be healthy? No matter which hygiene question you prefer to ask, this is one matter best mediated by one hand washing the other. Let Dr. Gary Noskin explain. "Always stop to wash your hands when they are visibly soiled," said Noskin, medical director of infection control at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, who has conducted numerous studies on the subject.

Disinfectants, be they hand sanitizers or industrial-strength cleaners, present a hospital's first blockade against bacterial infection. But this same weapon may be helping create stronger microbial enemies: superbugs that are resistant to disinfectants and commonly used antibiotics, scientists report in the January issue of the journal Microbiology. Researchers from the National University of Ireland in Galway studied lab cultures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa , which lives in soil and water.

In households with young children, they have become a standard fixture sinkside. Foamy, glittery, neon-colored or fruity, antibacterial soaps are to today's parents what a warm hat was to their parents: a guardian against illness and a visible yardstick of good parenting. As it turns out, plain soap would do just as well. (But don't forget your hat.

Disinfectants, be they hand sanitizers or industrial-strength cleaners, present a hospital's first blockade against bacterial infection. But this same weapon may be helping create stronger microbial enemies: superbugs that are resistant to disinfectants and commonly used antibiotics, scientists report in the January issue of the journal Microbiology. Researchers from the National University of Ireland in Galway studied lab cultures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa , which lives in soil and water.

It's a kitchen degreaser. It's a window cleaner. It kills athlete's foot. Oh, and you can drink it. Sounds like the old "Saturday Night Live" gag for Shimmer, the faux floor polish plugged by Gilda Radner. But the elixir is real. It has been approved by U.S. regulators. And it's starting to replace the toxic chemicals Americans use at home and on the job. The stuff is a simple mixture of table salt and tap water whose ions have been scrambled with an electric current.

After decades of proudly touting itself as one of the city's oldest companies, Los Angeles Soap Co.--whose White King label was a California household staple for more than a century--is quietly winding down its 127-year-old operation and preparing to slip out of business. In a letter sent to shareholders earlier this month, Andrew K. Forthmann Sr.

Buying soap used to be so simple. Find your brand--switch brands if there's a sale--then toss it in the cart. Of course, that was before "germ warfare" struck the soap-and-detergent aisle with a vengeance. Now, antibacterial is the industry buzzword--imprinted on the labels of bar soaps, liquid soaps and kiddie soaps.

One person died and at least 72 others were sickened by allergic reactions to denture cleaners, sometimes because of misuse of the products, U.S. regulators said Monday. The Food and Drug Administration blamed a bleach called persulfate, an allergen used in most denture cleansers, according to notices posted on the agency's website. The agency urged doctors and patients to be aware of the symptoms of an allergic reaction and to use the cleansers as directed.

By day, Patti Marcotte is a working mom -- dealing with the balancing act created by a 5-year-old daughter, a demanding job, a split-level house and a willful boxer puppy. Come the post-dinner hour, however, Marcotte begins operating in the shadowy world of smuggled soap.

Extensive studies of two toxic chemicals found in children's bath and personal care products suggest that if they pose a health hazard, it is likely to be extremely small and probably incalculable, a review of scientific research shows. The two chemical compounds -- 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde -- were found in trace quantities in children's shampoos, bath gels, lotions and wipes in a study conducted by the consumer group Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

It's a kitchen degreaser. It's a window cleaner. It kills athlete's foot. Oh, and you can drink it. Sounds like the old "Saturday Night Live" gag for Shimmer, the faux floor polish plugged by Gilda Radner. But the elixir is real. It has been approved by U.S. regulators. And it's starting to replace the toxic chemicals Americans use at home and on the job. The stuff is a simple mixture of table salt and tap water whose ions have been scrambled with an electric current.

One person died and at least 72 others were sickened by allergic reactions to denture cleaners, sometimes because of misuse of the products, U.S. regulators said Monday. The Food and Drug Administration blamed a bleach called persulfate, an allergen used in most denture cleansers, according to notices posted on the agency's website. The agency urged doctors and patients to be aware of the symptoms of an allergic reaction and to use the cleansers as directed.

For years before the mid-1980s, groundwater in parts of Southern California was contaminated with toxic solvents, yet the federal body responsible for tracking this didn't investigate the potential health threat to people who were drinking contaminated tap water. A congressional committee is now investigating why that neglect occurred. Here's a closer look at what scientists know about the main solvents of concern and their health effects.

The myth: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser pads are being banned because they contain formaldehyde. The reality: For once, some bad news about a product turns out to be untrue. But the rumor has become so widespread that the pads' producer, Procter & Gamble Co., posted a denial on its website: "Formaldehyde is not and has never been an ingredient." The background: Snopes.com, which investigates online rumors, started getting inquiries about the cleaning pads in 2004.

I've learned through PETA that household cleansers are poured into the eyes of immobilized and conscious rabbits so that the products can bear a warning saying, "Don't put this in your eyes." Because of Newkirk and her ilk, it's now possible to walk into a supermarket and find all kinds of non-animal-tested products labeled as such. How many of us would do as much toward making the world a kinder, saner place? LORRAINE FEATHER La Crescenta

With peanut allergy the third most common allergy in young children and the most common in older kids, teens and adults, there's been considerable discussion of how best to protect allergic people from inadvertent exposure to peanuts. Soap-free hand sanitizers apparently aren't enough.

The products: In past ages, people generally didn't wash their hands until they had an obvious reason, perhaps involving livestock or topsoil. Or both. But in these germ-conscious times, removing dirt is almost an afterthought when we step up to the sink. Our main goal is the total and utter destruction of E. coli, salmonella, campylobacter, rhinoviruses and any other germs that might have the nerve to make us sick. Regular soap doesn't kill many germs directly.